Special Report
How Police Firepower Compares in the World's Largest Countries
Published:
When it comes to the countries with the most police firepower, size matters.
For example, the United States has been channeling billions of dollars of surplus military equipment to thousands of its local police department for decades, and as a result has about 1.6 guns per police officer. While that is high compared to countries with larger populations, it is relatively low compared to countries with small populations, like Belarus, Belgium, and Finland, which have 1.9 or more firearms for every police officer. (Here are America’s most heavily policed cities.)
To determine how police firepower compares in the world’s largest countries, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from Small Arms Survey, an international firearms-monitoring organization. We ranked the 27 counties in the survey with populations of at least 50 million people by the estimated number of police firearms per sworn police officer in 2017, the most recently available year of police firearm data. Population-adjusted police officer figures were calculated using 2021 population data from the World Bank.
Among the countries with larger populations, the U.S. ranks sixth, just below Iran but more than Bangladesh. The more than two dozen countries with populations higher than 50 million people have between 0.7 guns per sworn officer in China to nearly two guns per officer in Russia.
The two largest countries by population, China and India, have more police officers than firearms. Japan, Tanzania, and the Philippines also have fewer guns than law enforcement officers. Germany, France, Russia, and South Africa, however, have more guns than police officers and rank in the top five countries with the highest ratio of guns per law enforcement personnel. (Here is every country that has abolished the death penalty and when.)
When it comes to the number of police relative to the population, Egypt is a major outlier, with a staggering 12 police officers for every 1,000 residents. By comparison, China, a country well known for policing its population, has only two officers for every 1,000 residents. Egypt has 1.2 firearms for every police officer, in line with the global average, compared to China’s 0.7 guns for each police officer.
How police firepower compares in the world’s largest countries.
27. England and Wales
> Est. police firearms: 0.23 per sworn officer (28,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.1 per 1,000 people (124,066 total)
> Population: 58,877,000 (as of 2017)
> Region: Northern Europe
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26. China
> Est. police firearms: 0.68 per sworn officer (1,971,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.0 per 1,000 people (2,893,000 total)
> Population: 1,412,360,000
> Region: Eastern Asia
24/7 Wall St.
25. India
> Est. police firearms: 0.69 per sworn officer (1,700,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.8 per 1,000 people (2,464,484 total)
> Population: 1,393,409,033
> Region: Southern Asia
24. Tanzania, United Republic of
> Est. police firearms: 0.81 per sworn officer (37,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.7 per 1,000 people (45,487 total)
> Population: 61,498,438
> Region: Eastern Africa
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23. Philippines
> Est. police firearms: 0.93 per sworn officer (139,043 total)
> Police officer count: 1.3 per 1,000 people (149,333 total)
> Population: 111,046,910
> Region: South-eastern Asia
22. Japan
> Est. police firearms: 0.97 per sworn officer (252,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.1 per 1,000 people (258,970 total)
> Population: 125,681,593
> Region: Eastern Asia
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21. Vietnam
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (285,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.9 per 1,000 people (285,385 total)
> Population: 98,168,829
> Region: South-eastern Asia
20. Italy
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (273,000 total)
> Police officer count: 4.6 per 1,000 people (273,341 total)
> Population: 59,066,225
> Region: Southern Europe
19. Indonesia
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (429,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.6 per 1,000 people (429,341 total)
> Population: 276,361,788
> Region: South-eastern Asia
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18. Thailand
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (230,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.3 per 1,000 people (230,000 total)
> Population: 69,950,844
> Region: South-eastern Asia
17. Korea, Republic of (South)
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (115,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.2 per 1,000 people (114,658 total)
> Population: 51,744,876
> Region: Eastern Asia
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16. Myanmar
> Est. police firearms: 1.00 per sworn officer (76,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.4 per 1,000 people (75,640 total)
> Population: 54,806,014
> Region: South-eastern Asia
15. Nigeria
> Est. police firearms: 1.14 per sworn officer (362,400 total)
> Police officer count: 1.5 per 1,000 people (318,158 total)
> Population: 211,400,704
> Region: Western Africa
14. Ethiopia
> Est. police firearms: 1.14 per sworn officer (79,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.6 per 1,000 people (69,000 total)
> Population: 117,876,226
> Region: Eastern Africa
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13. Brazil
> Est. police firearms: 1.17 per sworn officer (803,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.2 per 1,000 people (687,684 total)
> Population: 213,993,441
> Region: South America
12. Egypt
> Est. police firearms: 1.20 per sworn officer (1,530,000 total)
> Police officer count: 12.2 per 1,000 people (1,275,000 total)
> Population: 104,258,327
> Region: Northern Africa
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11. Democratic Republic of Congo
> Est. police firearms: 1.21 per sworn officer (46,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.4 per 1,000 people (38,000 total)
> Population: 92,377,986
> Region: Middle Africa
10. Mexico
> Est. police firearms: 1.30 per sworn officer (591,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.5 per 1,000 people (454,574 total)
> Population: 130,262,220
> Region: Central America
9. Turkey
> Est. police firearms: 1.50 per sworn officer (620,000 total)
> Police officer count: 4.9 per 1,000 people (413,527 total)
> Population: 85,042,736
> Region: Western Asia
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8. Pakistan
> Est. police firearms: 1.50 per sworn officer (944,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.8 per 1,000 people (629,587 total)
> Population: 225,199,929
> Region: Southern Asia
7. Iran
> Est. police firearms: 1.51 per sworn officer (98,000 total)
> Police officer count: 0.8 per 1,000 people (65,000 total)
> Population: 85,028,760
> Region: Southern Asia
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6. United States of America
> Est. police firearms: 1.56 per sworn officer (1,016,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.0 per 1,000 people (652,936 total)
> Population: 331,893,745
> Region: Northern America
5. Bangladesh
> Est. police firearms: 1.66 per sworn officer (333,000 total)
> Police officer count: 1.2 per 1,000 people (200,530 total)
> Population: 166,303,494
> Region: Southern Asia
4. South Africa
> Est. police firearms: 1.66 per sworn officer (250,481 total)
> Police officer count: 2.5 per 1,000 people (150,513 total)
> Population: 60,041,996
> Region: Southern Africa
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3. Russian Federation
> Est. police firearms: 1.90 per sworn officer (2,432,000 total)
> Police officer count: 8.9 per 1,000 people (1,280,000 total)
> Population: 143,446,060
> Region: Eastern Europe
2. France
> Est. police firearms: 1.90 per sworn officer (497,000 total)
> Police officer count: 3.9 per 1,000 people (261,392 total)
> Population: 67,499,343
> Region: Western Europe
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1. Germany
> Est. police firearms: 1.90 per sworn officer (466,000 total)
> Police officer count: 2.9 per 1,000 people (245,072 total)
> Population: 83,129,285
> Region: Western Europe
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